On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. wrote:
> Might some nonavian dinosaur have stuck around undetected in the whole of
> the Cenozoic? Possibly. Might there be trilobites in my septic tank.
> Sure. Might there be a Vorlon looking over your shoulder THIS VERY INSTANT?
> Sure. Is there evidence for any of these? No. Are there observations to
> suggest otherwise for these? Yes (the absence of nonavian dinosaurs or
> trilobites in the post-Cretaceous and post-Permian record, respectively; the
> fact the Vorlons are fictional).
This is one end of the scale. Another end might be the intuitive global
"Aha!" which greeted Darwin's (and Wallace's) idea. But the space between
is a kind of no man's land. This area of science has no statistical
standard. How does one know whether he is on to something or full of it?